Here’s a reader’s theatre version of John 6:1-21, the suggested gospel reading for Proper 12 B (July 29, 2012). It is set for three voices.
Reader’s Theatre: Jesus Feeds the 5000
(John 6:1-21, NLT)
One: Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee.
A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went,
because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.
So Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.
It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.
Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him.
Turning to Philip, he asked,
Two: “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”
One: He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Philip replied,
Three: “Even if we worked for months,
we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
One: Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.
Three: “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.
But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
Two: “Tell everyone to sit down.”
One: So they all sat down on the grassy slopes—thousands of them.
The men alone numbered about 5,000.
Then Jesus took the loaves,
gave thanks to God,
and distributed them to the people.
Afterward he did the same with the fish.
And they all ate as much as they wanted.
After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples,
Two: “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”
One: So they picked up the pieces
and filled twelve baskets with scraps of bread left over.
When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed,
Three: “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
One: Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king,
so he slipped away into the hills by himself.
That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him.
But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back,
they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.
Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough.
They had rowed three or four miles
when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat.
They were terrified, but he called out to them,
Two: “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”
One: Then they were eager to let him in the boat,
and immediately they arrived at their destination!
